Bomberman: The Final Strike
by AxisLyonheart516
Summary: After the failures of Altair's Armada, and the BHB Army, Regulus forms his own army, and begins an invasion on Planet Bomber no one will ever forget. But is galactic domination what Regulus truly desires? Rated Teen for Mild Language and Violence.
1. Prologue

**Bomberman: The Final Strike**

Written by AxisLyonheart516

**Note: **This story is based upon the events of Bomberman 64, Bomberman 64 The Second Attack, Bomberman Hero, Bomberman Generation, and the team from the Bomberman Jetters Anime. I've written the characters based on how I imagine them to act, and they are based upon their game appearances; the chibi-style we've all come to know and love… But you could always imagine them in any way you want. Please note that Bomberman will be referred to as both Shirobon and White Bomber every now and then, to make interaction with other characters easier. Also, Bomberman isn't the ten-year old of the anime; he's a fully trained and professional "Bomberman," and somewhere in the teen/young adult age.

**Legal Stuff: **Obviously, I don't own Bomberman (although I wouldn't complain if I did), and the characters featured in this story are owned by their respectable creators, most notably Hudson Soft.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

**Prologue**

"Are all the necessary preparations set?" Regulus sneered, very eager to begin the mission.

The soldier saluted to him, his black armor glimmering from the reflections of the floor beneath them. "Yes, but we'll need just a few more hours to get the Phantom up and running."

"I see…" Regulus turned, staring out into the dark reaches of space. "Very well, then. Dismissed."

The soldier bowed, and ran off to assist his fellow comrades. Regulus sighed, still looking out at the quiet front of the outside. Finally, _he_ was in command, the leader; no Altair or Rukifellth to "control" him. Sure, he never really followed Sthertoth's orders, but the very thought of that demon believing so just made him sick; their many obvious mistakes, their cockiness blinding them from the truth that they weren't invincible. It disgusted him. How could such powerful leaders be so oblivious to fact? But their time was up; yes, it was his turn to lead the attack, and there would be no mistakes.

"I will not be sidetracked so easily…" Regulus chuckled, the thought of both Altair and Rukifellth thinking they had what it took to conquer the galaxy made him laugh.

But he didn't want ton conquer the galaxy, no; what he wanted was far more important to him…

"Bomberman…" Regulus muttered.

A real match against this valiant warrior, to finally see who was truly the stronger soldier. Neither of them had truly fought against one another; something usually interfered between them, whether it had been following orders, of someone just getting in the way. _And those damn HigeHige Dan aren't making things easier… _The HigeHige Dan… pathetic. Making the same mistakes as Altair's Armada and the BHB Army… but that soldier, Max, was a different story… who was this soldier? And what relation did he have with Bomberman? They had engaged in battle numerous times, and yet, accompanied each other on some missions… _why?_ … But it didn't matter now; his upcoming battle with Bomberman was all he needed to focus on right now. This would be settled once and –

"Sir!" a soldier called, saluting him from behind. "The Phantom… it's ready."

Regulus looked over his shoulder, back at the soldier. "Why so soon? I was just told it would take some time."

"Well…" the soldier stuttered. "We found an unlimited source of energy… the Stone of Terminus."

"WHAT!" Regulus grabbed the soldier by his neck. "Where did you get it!"

The soldier struggled to spit out an answer, but Regulus' grip was too strong; He released the young man, letting him catch his breath.

"A man in green and bronze appeared out of nowhere carrying the stone. I guess he recognized our warship from somewhere. He said he knew you from before and that his name was—"

"Orion." the man stepped into view. "Second of the Masked Trio."

Regulus dismissed the soldier; indeed it was Orion.

"Long time no see." Regulus said, folding his arms. "How did you manage to survive your fall at Red Mountain?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Orion replied, his armor glowing brightly. "Let's not waste any time. I want in."

"And why should I trust you?"

"C'mon… I just handed over the Terminus Stone."

"… And how did you get a hold of that?"

"All in good time, my friend."

Regulus stood there, staring fiercely at Orion, remembering their past partnership.

"Fine, but if you try anything funny," a blade shot out from his arm-piece, and underneath Orion's throat. "I'll kill you myself."

"Touchy, aren't we?" Orion said, stumbling back. "We've worked together before. Did I try to screw you over then?"

Regulus sighed, remembering how good Orion was at debate; he withdrew the blade back into his armor. "What became of Artemis?"

Orion shrugged. "Who knows? I merely assumed she had drowned after her fight with Bomberman…"

"Poor woman…" Regulus shook his head. "Too much time on makeup, and not enough on training."

Orion laughed, "Still the high-strung warrior from way-back-when, huh? You haven't changed much."

"I suppose."

"… And who was this Zoniha?"

Regulus froze for a moment. "Just a woman I worked with on my last mission…"

"An Elemental Knight is just a _woman_ to you?" Orion chuckled, knowing how self-centered his friend could be at times. "She seemed like she'd do anything for you, _Bulzeeb_."

"When did you meet her?" Regulus turned, again facing the outside. "…And please, refrain from calling me that in the future… it was just a name I used undercover…"

"Whatever you say, _Bulzeeb_." Orion replied, stepping next to Regulus. "She had told me that you were the only man she'd ever respected. And this was from an Elemental Knight, mind you." Orion nudged Regulus' shoulder in a playful manner. "She's cute. I think you should hit it."

"Give it a rest," Regulus replied, shaking off Orion's touch. "Our relationship was strictly duty."

"Riiiiight…" Orion smiled, looking out into the depth of space.

"Sir!" another soldier appeared, behind the two.

"What is it?" Regulus peered over his shoulder.

"We can begin the operation at any time now. We're just waiting on your word."

"Excellent." Regulus said. "Set our targeting systems on Blue Resort of Planet Bomber. We strike immediately."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier saluted the two, and then he was off.

"Blue Resort?" Orion said. "I thought that was Artemis' sector on Altair's warship?"

"It was," Regulus replied. "But the residents of Planet Bomber claimed it theirs after Bomberman had defeated Sirius. And apparently the ruins of Green Resort fell somewhere deep within a jungle…"

"That Bomberman's just kicking ass and taking names then, huh?"

"It appears that way…" Regulus folded his arms. "Altair, Mihaele and Sthertoth, Bagular, the Bad Bombers, The HigeHige Dan… he appears to be near-undefeatable."

"But what makes him so strong?"

"I have no idea, but soon, I'll finally have the chance to fight him. A _true_ battle."

"And where do I come in?" Orion asked, eager to begin the operation. "I don't want to get in the way of your battle with Bomberman…"

Regulus pondered for a moment. "You'll be in command of Division S of the Zarotan Army: the highest-ranked soldiers. You will also be my coordinator from the surface of Planet Bomber, keeping me up-to-date on your status."

Orion nodded, trying not to show any sign of gratitude. "Understood."

"You know I'm only letting you do this because of the Stone, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Then why do you persist?"

"I can't let you lead a takeover without adult-supervision, now can I?" he wrapped his arm around Regulus' shoulder in a friendly manner. "We're "brothers," after all."

Regulus almost replied, but decided he shouldn't; it was nice to be back with his "brother," although it was a shame their "sister" wasn't with them. They continued to watch the outside until a beautiful, ocean-blue planet covered with lush green valleys appeared into view; it was indeed, Planet Bomber. Regulus then started for the control room; Orion soon followed.

"Look out, Bomberman," Regulus said. "Here I come."


	2. Hot Springs Planet Ksa2

**Note: **In case I haven't already said it, the Bomberman in this 'fic is a complete, and fully-fledged "Bomberman," meaning, he has left the Jetters, and has joined the Interplanetary Police Force -IPF for short- he's been currently in on games like Bomberman Generation, Bomberman Tournament, etc. Again, he's not a child like he was in the BJ Anime; rather, a teen/young adult to fit the mood of the fic. I don't know if it's a different universe or not, but I use my own timeline to tie the games together; the events of BJ are his missions as a child on Team Jetters, and as he grows older, the events of B64, BHero, B64TSA, and BG take place when he is part of the IPF.

**Author's Comments: Sora G. Silverwind -** Yeah, I was kinda disappointed when I only saw about 30 fics on Bomberman here... I hvaen't really checked any other places like Freedom of Speech FanFiction for more Bomberman-related fan-fics, but I'm guessing this place has the most. And yeah, I try to stay as close and coherent to the original storylines of the games as much as possible... don't wanna screw with it too much!

**-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --**

**Chapter One: Hot Springs Planet Ksa2**

"Hey, we're finally here, Pommy!" Bomberman smiled, hitting a few buttons on the control panel laid out in front of him.

"Yay!" Pommy jumped from his seat, running up to Bomberman. "Bomberman _did_ keep his promise to Pommy!"

The small, peach-colored animal bounced up and down next to his friend, his long, brown ears flapping continuously. Bomberman began to land their ship, looking out at the beautiful, green land sprawled out in front of them; trees full of lush, green leaves scattering themselves across the many small hill-tops that surrounded the area. Indeed, they were on the Hot Springs Planet Ksa2.

"So this is where Bomberman found Pommy…" Pommy pressed his face against the closest window, gazing at everything in sight with awe. "It's so pretty…"

"Wait 'till you try the springs," Bomberman said, opening the hatch at the press of a button.

They stepped outside, feeling the cool breeze brush up against their cheeks, which left behind a feeling of tranquility that couldn't be matched… There was a small building made of logs off in the distance, and as Bomberman started for it, he tucked away the key to the ship. He had to admit, he was a little nervous about leaving this place, wondering if he'd be pulled into another black hole or not. They stepped into the building, and were greeted by a receptionist… and a cute one, at that.

"Welcome to Ksa2, home of the famous K-Springs." Her brown hair was flowing from the breeze coming from the open door behind her. "I'm Mapel Trak. Can I be of service to you?"

"I'm Shirobon, and this my friend, Pommy," Bomberman smiled. "We'd like one spring, please."

"Luckily, we have just one open…" she turned, and grabbed two towels, handing one to each of them.

Bomberman took the towel, and handed her the money; she shook her head.

"The least I can do is give you a free spring," she smiled. "You've saved this galaxy so many times; I forget how much we owe you." She brushed her hair. "We hope you enjoy your stay."

She bowed politely, and showed them through the door. They spotted their spring way in the back, underneath the shade of a nearby tree. There were a lot of people here; he figured they'd all heard about it after his fight out of the BHB Army's Black Hole… there weren't nearly as many people here last time…

"Pommy thought Maple was cute…" Pommy said.

"Yeah, so did I…" Bomberman replied, flinging his towel over his shoulder. "And she recognized my talent, too."

"What is Bomberman talking about? She was obviously referring to Pommy's achievements. You couldn't save the world without Pommy, and you know it."

Bomberman rolled his eyes, ignoring his short friend. The water was clear as crystal, and emanating a comfortable heat, one that gave both the feelings of intensity and paradise. He dipped his foot into the water, and shuddered with delight.

"You're gonna love this, Pommy." He said.

"Pommy thinks Bomberman's ri—"

"Bomberman!" a voice called. "Bomberman, do you read me! Come in, White Bomber!"

"Hmm?" Bomberman flipped the lid up of the Gold Bangle on his wrist; the small screen underneath projected Professor Ein's face, and he looked worried. "What's wrong? What's got you so riled up this time?"

"Bomberman!" Ein sighed in relief. "Thank the Angel you're alright!"

Bomberman raised an eyebrow. "Uh… what's wrong?"

"Planet Bomber is under serious attack!"

"WHAT!"

"I assumed you were there on your vacation, so I was concerned about your safety…"

"What do you mean it's under attack! Who's responsible for this!"

"We have no idea who exactly it is yet," Ein wiped his forehead with a rag. "But what we've learned thus far is that it's by an army known as the Covenant's Shadow…"

"Covenant's Shadow? What's that?"

"We don't know yet," Ein wiped his forehead again. "But hurry up, and get over there! The Jetters will meet you there!"

It had been almost a year since he had left the Jetters and joined the Interplanetary Police Force, but it would be good to see them again. And, for some reason, he still wore the Badge. "Right. White Bomber, out." Bomberman closed the communication.

"What is it, Bomberman?" Pommy asked, trembling a bit.

"My home…" Bomberman looked away. "It's… under attack."

"Myu!" Pommy jumped. "C'mon, let's hurry!"

"Yeah." Bomberman nodded.

"Though Pommy wished he could've tried the springs…"

"Yeah, me too—"

"HELP!" someone screamed.

Bomberman looked over, seeing a young girl being surrounded by a group of men in metallic-black armor, silver "R's" engraved on the center of their helmets.

"Help!" she cried again.

Without thinking, Bomberman dashed over, forming a bomb in his hand. Once it pumped to body-size, he threw it at the soldiers, making a run for the little girl. Once he grabbed her hand, he ran as fast as he could, trying to avoid being caught in the bomb's fire. The bomb exploded, killing the soldiers, but another person cried. He looked over, and the people that were just enjoying the peacefulness of the springs were running away from another group of soldiers; these guys in a much bigger group. _They must be in relation to the group attacking my planet… better take 'em out._

"Nobody move!" a gruff voice shouted.

A few of soldiers held their weapons up, threatening the crowd.

"Where's Bomberman!" one of them shouted. "We're looking for Bomberman!"

"Right here." Bomberman called out, holding a bomb in his hands.

"Get 'em!" the leader shouted. "Get 'em alive!"

"Pommy's scared…" Pommy whimpered, pulling his ears over his eyes.

Bomberman threw the bomb at the soldiers in front, killing them. He took a few steps back, charging another Big Bomb in his hands.

"Bomber… SHOOT!" he shouted, engulfing the bomb in flames and tossing it at the next group.

_BOOM!_

Another group fell hard. A soldier jumped in front of him, drawing a small blade, aiming for his chest. Quickly, Bomberman rolled to the side, tripped the soldier, and threw a bomb onto his flattened stomach. Only a few men remained, who soon took off in the direction in which they came.

"Oh no, you don't…" Bomberman muttered.

He dropped a bomb and kicked it as hard as he could; it trailed down the path quickly, and exploded beneath the fleeing men, killing them. The crowd cheered as he looked over at Pommy.

"C'mon," he said, dashing back to the ship. "Let's hurry!"

"Right." Pommy replied, and turned back toward the crowd. "Everything is alright thanks to Bomberman and Pommy! Enjoy your baths!"

-- --

Bomberman hopped into the seat of the cockpit, and immediately took off. After

setting the coordinates for Planet Bomber, a hologram of Professor Ein popped up on the large screen in front of him.

"White Bomber!" he shouted. "We've just acquired new info on this group of terrorists."

"Yeah?" Bomberman leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. "That quick, huh?"

"Shaut's more helpful than you think, Bomberman." Ein replied.

Bomberman rolled his eyes. "When she's not yelling…"

"You know, I'm right here, White Bomber…" Shaut's image appeared next to Ein's. "What's this about me yelling!"

"You're always yelling! It's always about something with you…"

"What do you mean by that!" she screamed.

"You're always screaming at me for absolutely no—"

"Quiet you two!" Ein yelled.

"Sorry, professor…" they glared at each other.

"We've discovered this army's method of attack," Ein continued. "It seems they're using a device called the Phantom."

"Phantom?" Bomberman sighed. "It seems like everyone I've battled has a 'secret' device… What's this one capable of doing?"

"Well, we don't know yet, but—"

He sighed again. "But it's safe to assume that it can destroy an entire planet?"

"… That's one way of putting it, yes…" Ein wiped his forehead. "But here's the real kicker; the weapon is being powered by an artifact known as the Stone of Terminus."

"Stone of what?" Bomberman asked. "What's that?"

"You're the hero of the Angel," Shaut said. "And you don't even know what the Stone of Terminus is…?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Do you remember the Celestial Stone and the seven other elements of the Astral Knights?"

Bomberman nodded.

"And the Bomb Elements that you retrieved from Planet Tentacalls?" Well, the Angel of Light and Dark created a stone that controls those elements… the power of it alone is incredible, but if it absorbs the energy of the other elements…"

Bomberman clutched the Fire Stone next to his chest. "We're doomed?

"… In laymen terms, yes. The Stone of Terminus is known as the Object of Judgment, possessing as much power as –if not more than- the Angel itself."

"How did these guys manage to get hold of it?"

"Well, when the Angel created these elements, she handed the Stone over to the goddess, Alhena, in order to ensure its safety from never being touched by mortal hands. She had taken it deep within a cavern, underneath the earth, and sealed it with such heat that if any mortal got near the entrance, they would disintegrate into nothingness. How they managed to get passed that is beyond me…"

"So, this weapon is powered by the Object of Judgment," Bomberman said.

"Pommy doesn't like this at all…" Pommy trembled. "Not one bit…"

"And to make matters slightly more complicated…" Ein sighed. "The HigeHige Dan are after the Stone, as well."

Bomberman rubbed his face. "That's just great…"

Ein wiped his forehead again. "At least they didn't bring along another 'Dark Star' plan with them this time…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Bomberman sighed.

"White Bomber," Shaut said. "Team Jetters will meet you in the forest near the ruins of Green Garden. Try to land on the planet as unnoticeable as possible… from what I've seen so far, there are a _lot_ of enemies."

"Gotcha." Bomberman replied.

Her image disappeared from the screen.

"Bomberman," Ein said. "Your mission is to stop this army, and retrieve the Stone of Terminus. We can't let them have it in their possession any longer… Who knows what they might do with it…"

"Right." Bomberman nodded, watching as Ein's image disappeared from the screen as well.He turned to Pommy. "You ready?"

Pommy shook his head. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Not really." he smiled.

The ship traveled on for a while, following it's set path, until it hit a small asteroid, which shook the entire ship; Bomberman jumped from his seat, awaked from his nap. He looked out from the cockpit's windshield, and saw Planet Bomber in the distance. He shook Pommy awake as the ship entered the planet's atmosphere, the heat forming all around the ship's exterior, and soon, they were above the dark sky. They spotted a clearing in the forest below them, and quickly flew down toward it, trying to get out of view as soon as possible. As soon as the door opened, Pommy dashed outside, onto a nearby hill.

"Uh, Bomberman," he called. "Come take a look…"

Bomberman quickly climbed the hill, and looked over the landscape below him.

He couldn't believe what he saw.


	3. Team Jetters

**Author's Comments: Sora G. Silverwind - **Yeah, I always love to see the little guy kick so much ass on his vacations. :)

I was never sure if BJ was a new series or not, but I thought it'd be fun to incorporate it into a 'fic with all the other games. And I'm going to include the memory of Mighty somewhere into it, but you'll just have to wait and see... hee hee.

Wow, you have the only BMan fics on FOSFF? I envy you. I might just have to put this one over there so you won't feel as lonely. ;p And I still don't know why this place has such a strict policy on script-based works...

I'll try to keep this as updated as I can, but seeing how I'm currently working on Chapter Five right now, so I think I'll be busy for a while.

**-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --**

**Chapter Two: Team Jetters**

"It's amazing how fast these people go down," Orion spoke into his communicator. "I don't see how Bomberman came from here… aside from most people here wearing that same suit, anyways."

"I agree," Regulus replied, staring into a few monitors in front of him. "I'll be out there to join you soon. I have to take care of a few things first…"

"Alright. I'll meet you at Town Square." Orion looked up at the giant statue of Bomberman erected in front of him, part of a fountain. "Oh, hey, could you bring something down to eat? I'm hungry like a mother—"

Regulus shut of the transmission; Orion laughed.

"What an asshole…"

--

Bomberman stared at the world below him in awe; not a single person was walking along the streets of the city. Buildings were on fire, bodies were scattered across the ground… it was a nightmare. Pommy shuffled uncomfortably, looking up at his friend.

"Pommy thinks we should go and find the Jetters…" he said, pulling Bomberman back down the hill.

Bomberman followed Pommy, still thinking about what he just saw. _Who could've done this…?_ They walked through the trees a bit, following a thin trail of dirt leading to the ruins of Green Garden. The trail stopped at a river, but Bomberman kicked a bomb at a nearby tree; he had to do it a lot while he was in Octopus Woods on Tentacalls.

_Boom!_

The tree fell, forming a bridge over the river. As he cautiously crossed over the tree, Pommy quickly dashed ahead, obviously not afraid of falling. As soon as Bomberman made it to the other side, they continued walking through the forest. Bomberman felt very uncomfortable, wondering why the sky was so grey. It was never like this, even on the rainiest of days. _All the more reason to be uncomfortable…_ he thought. There were no birds whistling, no sign of any life near him but Pommy… the world felt empty.

Soon, they came to a clearing, a path of rocks crossing over the surface of a nearby lake, leading to the entrance of an old, stone temple.

"White Bomber!" a voice called. "Pommy!"

Bomberman looked over, and saw Shaut stepping out from behind some trees.

"Shaut!" Bomberman dashed up to her. "What happened here!"

"It looks like they've already used the Phantom…" she frowned. "They've destroyed the entire west side of the city."

"And they're getting ready to use it again," another voice said from behind the trees.

It was Birdy, who was anxiously trying to pull tree bark from his beak. Following him were Bongo and Gangu, who looked like they were trying to pick up a signal through some machinery.

"How's it goin', White Bomber?" Gangu asked, the antennae on his head rotating continuously in circles.

"What're you guys doing?" Bomberman asked.

"We're trying to pick up any signals from their ship, bongo." Bong answered, pressing an earphone closer to his head.

"We've learned that they'll fire the Phantom again in a few hours," Shaut looked back at Bomberman. "They're waiting for more prisoners to be taken. They'll be aiming for the village next…"

"I haven't seen their ship yet," Bomberman said. "Where is it?"

Birdy threw the last piece of bark from his beak onto the ground. "It's in the sky above Blue Resort," he said. "But we don't know how to get onboard from there."

"Are there any sections of the ship I have to destroy?" Bomberman asked, remembering both the Bad Bombers and Dark Star incidents. "Like protectors of each of section?"

"No," Shaut answered. "There are just two people commanding this entire attack. And they've already done more damage that anyone else has."

"Only two?" Pommy asked. "Bomberman and Pommy can take 'em!"

"Two guys did all this?" Bomberman said in disbelief. "Do they know that we're here?"

"No," Shaut answered. "And we have to keep it that way. These aren't simpletons like the HigeHige Dan… these guys mean business."

"What's their reason for doing this?" Bomberman folded his arms in frustration. "Planet Bomber doesn't exactly have anything worth destroying the whole place…except maybe for the Cosmo Diamond… What are their motives?"

Shaut shook her head, her short, brown hair flowing in the faint wind. "I'm afraid we won't know until we figure out who exactly they are."

"Then what's our plan of attack for now?" Bomberman asked.

"For now," Shaut looked back into the forest. "We'll have to sneak into town, avoiding any detection whatsoever. These guys are armed with serious firepower. Hand-Cannons, Laser Guns, Plasma Sabers… the whole works."

"Alright." Bomberman said. "We should move—"

"Quiet!" Gangu interrupted. "I'm picking up something…"

The voice of two soldiers could be heard over the faint sound of static and white noise emitting from Gangu's antennae.

_"So, how many prisoners has the boss taken in?"_ one soldier came in.

_"About ninety-two percent of the planet's population has been captured. Six percent evaded or escaped, and two percent have been killed, either in defense or trying to escape."_ another soldier answered.

_"Wow. All in less than a day, too."_

_"I know. We're under some kick-ass leadership…"_

_"Have they found that Bomberman and his pet yet?"_

_"No. They haven't seen any signs of him yet."_

_"I doubt he's even here… probably chickened out… Hey, do you know how to get onto the Main Ship?"_

_"What?"_

_"I came from another fleet. I haven't been on it yet… and I really need to pee."_

_"Okay. Do you remember seeing that statue of the goddess on the upper area of Blue Resort?"_

_"Yeah. Part of the fountain, right?"_

_"Yeah, that's the one. There's a stairway on the other side of it that leads up to the roof of a building. Up there will be a portal leading to the outside of the ship. The number-code on your ID Card will get you in. Bathroom's fifth door on the right."_

_"Alright, thanks."_

The sounds of footsteps could be heard moving farther and farther away from the signal. Bomberman turned to face the others.

"Myu!" Pommy groaned. "Pommy isn't Bomberman's pet!"

"Well, that was convenient, bongo…" Bongo sighed.

"I'll say…" Bomberman rubbed his forehead.

"Since almost half of Blue Resort has been destroyed," Shaut said. "There won't be as many guards patrolling the area."

"But that doesn't mean it will be any easier." Birdy replied.

"We'll travel in groups," Bomberman said. "Birdy, you and Shaut take the east portion of the forest, Bongo and Gangu, take the west. Pommy and I will take point north."

"Sounds good," Gangu said.

Birdy pulled a pistol from his jacket. "Let's move, Shaut."

Shaut frowned. "I could've made the plans, y'know…"

They took off in the forest, following the lake's stream. Bongo turned to Bomberman, nodded, grabbed Gangu by his antennae, and took off into the forest.

"You ready, Pommy?" Bomberman looked over at him.

Pommy nodded. "Let's go."

And with that, they dashed back into the woods, not once looking back.


	4. Woods of Desolation

**Note: **Sorry if I took too damn long to update this. I kinda got caught up in playing Star Fox Command on the Nintendo DS, and that's kinda been taking up my time... but I haven't forgotten about this 'fic, no! Actually, I'm currently working on Chapter Six or Seven, so it'll be going for a while.

**Author's Comments: Sora G. Silverwind - **Yeah, the Mujoe Laugh totally pwns all. Personally, I don't think a site such as this really has the time, or would even want to, actually go through and filter all the stuff they find as "crap," but I don't really follow their updates. I know I still see a ton of songfics around here, so... yeah...

**chuposan - **Yeah, I try to keep a characters personality as closely as it is on the actual media they appear in, but in the case of Bomberman 64, in which they say absolutely nothing at all, I tried to base their personalities on how they act in battle.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

**Chapter Three: Woods of Desolation**

"Hey, Regulus…"

"What, Orion?"

"If you want to fight Bomberman so bad," he looked down into his communicator. "Why did you send that group of soldiers to ambush him on Ksa2?"

"Why do you need to know?"

Orion shrugged. "I dunno… It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me, is all."

Regulus sighed. "If you must know, I sent them there to… 'warm' him up, so to speak."

"You sent an entire squadron of soldiers to 'freshen' up Bomberman's skills?" Orion laughed. "Wow, and they still had their asses handed to them…"

"Even when he hasn't engaged in battle for a long period of time, his skills are still unmatchable…"

"Apparently…" Orion looked back at the burning building he and his team just raided. "Say, what exactly are you doing up there?"

Regulus looked back into the monitors in front of him, watching a mysterious man in black decimate the squad guarding the North entrance of the city. "Nothing." he answered, turning away from the screen. "Send another squad down to the City Gate, immediately… We've got a fly to swat."

"_Another _one?" Orion realized the situation. "Understood."

"And once they're out there," Regulus continued. "Get up here. I've got something to discuss with you."

"Uh… okay…" Orion muttered, feeling somewhat awkward.

Regulus sighed. "Are you always this immature?"

"That depends. Are you always such a jerk-off?"

"… Just get up here."

Orion laughed, shutting off the transmission. "Orion, two, Reggy-boy, zip."

-- --

They trudged through the damp, empty forest, trying to stay as quiet as possible. It was hard to tell if anyone was watching them, but they didn't want to take the risk of anyone seeing them. It was unusually dark, even for the forest, the leaves looking more grey than green, the dirt more black than brown; it was very unsettling. Off in the distance, they could see someone slowly walking around the area; Bomberman stuck his hand out in front of Pommy, signaling him to stop moving. Slowly, he moved forward, quietly trying to avoid any sudden movement that could catch the sudden attention of--

_CRACK!_

A rather large twig of some sort snapped beneath his feet. Bomberman quickly dropped flat onto his chest, hoping whoever it was, didn't see or hear him. He crawled through the large grass in front of him, signaling Pommy to stay behind him, moving closer to whoever the person was. The slight fog made it harder to see, blending in with the darkness, but he tried his hardest to focus. As the person came into view, it turned out to be a young girl from Planet Bomber; she was wearing the same suit as he was, only hers was of a teal color. Bomberman stood up and walked up behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder; she gasped in terror.

"Shh, no, no, it's alright…" Bomberman whispered. "I won't hurt you."

She turned to look at him, her little green dress damp from the fog. He could see in her eyes that she was fine, but her small body was shaking.

"Are you alright…"

"K-Katy…" her soft voice trembled. "My n-name is… is Katy."

Bomberman kneeled down to her level facing her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Do you know what happened here, Katy?"

She shook her head. "No. A big, black ship appeared in the sky, and shot a giant, purple laser beam. Then a bunch of soldiers came down and started hurting people… I was so scared, I turned and ran here into the forest…"

"How long have you been out here for?"

"I don't know…" a tear formed in her eye. "I'm scared, and cold, and hungry… and I want my mommy and daddy…"

Bomberman smiled, trying to comfort her. "If they're as strong and brave as you, I'm sure they're just fine."

She smiled weakly.

"Do you know who the soldiers were?"

She shook her head. He stood up, took her hand in his, and flipped open his communicator."

"Shaut, come in." he said. "Are you there?"

After a few moments, Shaut's voice could be heard. "I'm here. What is it, White Bomber? Is anything wrong?"

"I found a girl lost in the forest," he answered. "She escaped from the soldiers, and has been out here for hours. I need you to take her back to the Cosmo Jetter for safety."

"Affirmative." she replied. "As soon as my tracker locates you, I'll be over as soon as I can."

Bomberman closed the transmission and looked down at the girl.

"Don't worry," he smiled. "You're safe now."

"Y-you're with the Jetters, aren't you?" she said, looking at the badge on his chest.

He smiled weakly. "Sorta…" he answered.

"Thank you…" she looked up at him, smiling faintly.

He smiled at her. Pommy came up and hopped into her arms, trying to help her lose her sense of loneliness. Soon, Shaut appeared from the trees, carrying a small pistol in her hands. She took the girl in hand, nodded at the two, and headed back the way they had came. Bomberman looked at Pommy, and they continued back on their path through the forest.

"Bomberman is really good with kids," Pommy said. "Pommy is very impressed."

Bomberman rubbed the back of his neck. "It was nothing… really."

The trees seemed to get darker as they progressed, the air getting colder and colder. Bomberman sighed, wondering how long this forest would go on. It had already been almost--

"_Area's clear, boss." _a voice could be heard coming from ahead. _"… No, no sign of him yet. We're not even sure if he's even on the planet… yes… yes, sir. I'll continue my search."_

It was obvious that he was talking through some sort of communicator, it had to have been an enemy soldier. Bomberman slowly walked forward, edging over the side of a nearby tree. Indeed, it was an enemy upon closer inspection, dressed in jet-black armor, and carrying a rather large Laser Gun in his hands. There was a silver "R" engraved on his helmet; they were the same soldiers that had ambushed them on Ksa2. Without hesitating, Bomberman quickly dropped a bomb and kicked it, watching it slam fiercely into the soldier, knocking him out.

_Boom!_

The soldier fell, collapsing to the extreme heat.

"Myu! Why didn't Bomberman ask him any info!" Pommy frowned.

Bomberman rolled his eyes. "One: You can't just ask an enemy for info on their cause. Two: I doubt he would've told us anything, anyways… Judging by that weapon, I'd say he was of high-rank."

They moved forward, looking cautiously for anymore soldiers. Soon, they reached the edge of the forest, reaching a street leading up to the North Entry Gate of Blue Resort.

"Bomberman and Pommy made--"

Bomberman quickly wrapped his hand over Pommy's mouth, pointing down the road; a group of soldiers stood on guard, each with Laser Guns in their hands.

_BOOM!_

A massive explosion appeared, killing the group.

"What the!" Bomberman dashed toward the explosion. "Who just did that!"

As the smoke started to clear away, a soldier in black stood in it's place, his red cape flowing with the wind.

"Max!" Bomberman shouted. "What're you doing here! I thought the IPF needed you at the HigeHige Dan's base?"

"Hmm?" Max turned to face Bomberman. "Shirobon? I wondered when I'd meet you here…"

Bomberman stood in a defensive position. "What's your business here?"

Max looked through the gate, where the once peaceful Blue Resort stood. "I heard about the attack." he answered. "I thought I'd come and help you out. Any group that isn't part of the HigeHige Dan always catches my eye…"

"Where are they!"

Max shrugged. "I don't know. I left their base a while before they heard about it. I don't know if they're even here yet. But enough talk," Max lifted his hand into the air, streams of white energy forming into the size of a basketball. "HYPER… BLAST!"

_BOOM!_

A blinding and deafening white sheet blanketed the area, making it impossible to see. After it had cleared, Max was gone.

"Ugh... I can't believe that guy's my partner..." Bomberman coughed.

He walked up to the gate, looking at the city's front, Pommy standing next to him.

"Is Bomberman ready?" Pommy looked up at him.

Bomberman nodded. "Let's go."

The two stepped through the charred gate and into the city, hoping that here, they'd find some answers.


	5. Blue Resort

**Note: **Crap. Again, sorry for taking sooo long for an update. What with the excitement of the Nintendo Wii and all... well, it's just been hard to find some time to actually sit down and type this... and the fact that this computer had been shut down for over a month because SOMEONE doesn't know anything about viruses... again. But enough on that, because Chapters Eight and Nine are currently in the works, and again, I must find time to sit and type the other three chapters in between. Oh, and just as a side note, the Sinister Bombers are MY creation, though I don' t know if there is a "Bomberman" title I haven't played that uses that same name... which I wouldn't doubt.

**Author's Notes: Sora G. Silverwind - **Yeah, Max does kick major ass. A little too much, if ya ask me. I've always been more of a Mighty fan, though, and you'll be seeing that as this 'fic progresses. He's just so awesome and do-goody and righteous! And Katy will most likely show up again... I just haven't decided when and where yet.

I know I've always called this place the "Sweatshop of All Fanfic's," but you can't even put bloopers up here? Wow, I didn't even know that... how lame. They must have some really bad "cops" here, since I've seen about a few hundred of those still up here and being updated. On another note, I really did enjoy Tales of Symphonia, up until, y'know... the end? Seriously, I hated the ending to that game with a burning passion (What the hell did Lloyd call the tree? WHAT?), but I'll probably end up seeing the anime to it... ;p As for Golden Sun... well, I tried to get into that game, I really did, but after getting stuck about, oh, seven or eight hours into it, I just gave up. Maybe I should give it another go? I just wish someone would kick Garet right in the crotch for asking the most stupid and straight-forward questions ever... seriously, does he really even care if Isaac says what's on his mind?

And I know EXACTLY how the whole finding/writing thing goes; after giving up on finding any decent Star Fox 'fiction (my other little place of happiness), I just decided to write my own... And yes, Star Fox Command is a very good game - actually, it's really addicting - but I still don't think it can hold a candle to Star Fox 64. And Star Fox Adventures... well, let's just say that's not Axis' most favorite SF game in the world...

-- -- -- -- --

**Chapter Four: Blue Resort**

The soldier fell to the ground, his opponent's fierce kick slamming into his spine. Birdy brushed his shirt, and then straightened out his hair.

"Do you always have to overdo these things?" Shaut sighed. "A simple chop in the back would've—"

"Look at this planet, Shaut," he replied. "Do they look like they'll be merciless? They're really starting to piss me off…"

The forest seemed unusually dark, and the thick fog wasn't helping much, either. Birdy and Shaut trudged through the wet grass, and after pushing through about a thousand hanging branches, ended up on the side of a road; it was the east gate of Blue Resort.

"Dammit…" Shaut muttered, staring up at what was up the road. "The entrance is guarded—"

Birdy put his hand over her mouth, staring intensely at a moving figure in the distance. After a few moments, a large explosion appeared where the shadowy figure was; he had to have been a third-party trying to get in.

"You find a way in," Birdy took off. "I'm gonna see what that was all about."

Shaut sighed, drawing the tranquilizer pistol from her waist. "This is gonna be a looong day…" she muttered.

**-- -- -- -- --**

"I can't believe they did this…" Bomberman stood there in awe, staring at the destruction of the city.

"White Bomber!" Birdy's voice came from the communicator.

He flipped open the bangle, looking into the screen underneath. "What is it, Birdy?"

"Did you make it to the city?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Almost, but I need to tell you something," Birdy looked over his shoulder. "Keep a look out for the Sinister Bombers… they've made it to the planet."

"WHAT?!" Bomberman smacked his forehead. "Why is everyone involved in this? Is that Stone really _that _popular?!"

Birdy shrugged. "I guess. You have to realize something, Shiro; that stone strikes greed in the hearts of the greedy, and those to weak to resist it."

Bomberman sighed. "I guess… thanks for the tip."

He closed the transmission.

"The Sinister Bombers?" Pommy asked. "Who are they? Pommy doesn't remember seeing them…"

"A few days after the Tentacalls mission, I came into a group of space pirates on my way to check a disturbance on Jetters Planet known as the Sinister Bombers." he answered. "There were three of them; Kaut the Gunslinger, Almach the Swordmaster, and their leader, Menkam, the Bomber of Death. I have no idea what their motives are, but they weren't nice people."

"Pommy's not scared!" Pommy said proudly. "Bomberman and Pommy can take them!"

Bomberman nodded. "Let's go."

Blue Resort had changed a lot since its arrival on Planet Bomber; more roads were paved, many more buildings had been erected, and bridges were fewer than before. He was glad to see that they had taken out the wall-mounted cannons that used to be everywhere; he remembered having trouble avoiding their blasts. The fight against Altair had been tough, and he had Regulus to thank for surviving the battle with Sirius. He had gotten much stronger since then, eagerly wanting to use his newly-found skills on whoever had caused this destruction.

The city was quiet; no sounds of children's laughter anywhere to be heard, the smell of freshly-baked 'bomber-bread' replaced with the scent of wet, burning ash that smelled like someone had thrown a bag of gunpowder over. In short, it was very unpleasant. They passed over the corpse of a young man who wasn't wearing a "Bomber Suit," and must've died defending someone he loved; a shotgun was underneath one of his hands. Bomberman suddenly felt sick, the sight of an innocent man being shot at filled his body with rage.

They turned through the side of a red building, moving down a dark alleyway, a bridge on the other side. Bomberman and Pommy both took a second look at the water twenty-feet beneath them; it was still flowing. Bomberman looked up from where the water was coming from, and sure enough, the fountain of the goddess was still up there from long ago, the stairway right behind her: their destination. They continued down the bridge, ending up in a small park, patches of dead flowers surrounding them.

Bomberman spotted the only flower sill alive among the rest: a red tulip was moving gently with the faint wind. He kneeled down next to it, plucking it gently; it would have a better chance of living if it were with him he thought. He gently pinned the weak flower to his chest, and turned around; a young man with long, blue hair was standing on the other side of the garden, his black trench coat flowing softly with the wind, covering his silver armor underneath. Bomberman could see strength in his dark eyes, noticing a sheath strapped to his waist. Indeed, it was Almach the Swordmaster of the Sinister Bombers.

"It's sad, isn't it?" he said, his voice containing no tone of anger or intensity. He plucked a dead flower and held it in the air above him. "These plants depend on us to survive, and yet, we still fail to live up to their needs, ignoring their existence in favor of ours."

Bomberman watched as he let go of the flower, seeing it fly away, the wind carrying it across its invisible path. Almach stared into the dark sky, his hands resting in the pockets of his coat. Bomberman found him interesting; he was the only "Bomber" he'd ever seen who didn't wear any kind of "Bomber Suit," aside from Max, anyways.

"Bomberman," Almach sighed. "Must we do this?"

"Are you going to keep me from getting to that ship?"

"You know the answer." he answered. "It's my job."

"Then we have no choice."

Almach took a few steps back, drawing his sword, which looked like a katana.

"Bomberman can handle this!" Pommy shouted, dashing to the corner of a flower patch, cowering in fear.

"Have at thee, Bomberman!" Almach shouted, lifting his blade.

Bomberman stepped back, a bomb forming in his hand. Almach dashed up to him, swinging his sword; on instinct, Bomberman threw the bomb, using it to block the attack, and jumped to the right, kicking another bomb at Almach's feet.

_Boom!_

"Ice Bomb!" he shouted, forming, and then throwing the bomb at Almach's blade, completely freezing it from use.

Almach threw the sword to the ground, and pulled a Fire Bomb from beneath his coat, throwing it at Bomberman, who quickly kicked it back in mid-air, and then threw another Ice Bomb with it.

_Boom! Boom!_

The resulting explosion was a hybrid of intense fire and ice, causing Almach to stand there for moment, paralyzed. Quickly, he regained his strength, and jumped back, pulling a small device from his coat; it looked like a miniature television remote. Whatever it was, he was grinning widely.

"Say farewell, my friend!" he shouted.

"What the—"

Almach threw the device as hard as he could, watching it travel to Bomberman as fast as—

"_NO!_" someone screamed.

Suddenly, a small, grey object slammed onto the device, knocking it over the area and into the waters below.

_BOOM!_

The object exploded, and a huge, smoke-filled fireball temporarily casted the area in a blood-red light. A young girl came running from the bridge ahead, a laser-blade forming from her metal wrist-band. Almach blocked her attack with his arm, and pushed her back; the cloth on his coat ripped open, revealing a robotic arm.

"Alya!" he sneered. "You little _bitch_!"

The girl swung her blade once more, striking Almach across his chest. He stumbled back, clutching onto the bleeding area.

"You win this time," he growled. "With your pathetic excuse for a girlfriend."

Almach tossed himself over the side of the railing, falling to the waters below. The girl sighed, and turned to Bomberman.

"Hello, Bomberman!" she smiled cheerfully, her beautiful azure-blue hair caught in the breeze. "I'm sorry you had to go through with… _that_."

Bomberman shook his head in disbelief. "Do you know that guy?"

She frowned. "He's my brother… unfortunately."

He looked into her eyes, watching them sparkle a beautiful blue.

"Oh! I'm sorry I haven't properly introduced myself," she turned, shyly. "I'm Alya."

Bomberman shook her hand. "I'm Shiro, but my friends call me 'Bomberman.'" he pointed to Pommy, who was still in the corner. "And that's my friend, Pommy."

"Hmm?" Pommy turned around, looking at the girl next to his friend. "P-Pommy wasn't scared, y'know! Pommy was just… just resting his eyes!"

"Well, hello there!" she giggled. "Aren't you cute!"

Pommy stood there proudly, puffing his small chest out; Bomberman rolled his eyes.

"So, what're you doing here, Alya?" Bomberman asked.

She turned to him, withdrawing her blade. "I'm here to investigate this attack. I heard that my brother and his gang were after something on this planet, so I thought I'd come and find whatever it was they were searching for."

"The Stone of Terminus?" Bomberman asked.

"Yeah!" she answered. "How did you know?"

Bomberman folded his arms. "We're after the same--"

"Hey!" she shouted, pointing to his chest. "You're with the Jetters?!"

He shook his head. "No, well, I used to be—"

She took both his hands in hers and smiled. "Will you help me find the stone?" her eyes twinkled.

"Uh, well…" Bomberman stuttered, trying not to get lost in her eyes. "We have to get the Stone ourselves, and—"

"I'll help you!" she flicked her hair. "I don't really want it… I just wanted to stop my brother, 'cause when he sets his eye on something, he'll stop at nothing to get it. And I mean _nothing_…" she spoke rather fast.

"O-Okay!" Bomberman said.

Slowly, she gently took the flower pinned to his chest, and stuck it in her hair. She walked over to the bridge they had crossed earlier and waved goodbye. "I have something to take care of." she said. "Bye!"

Pommy stood next to Bomberman, watching her run off.

"Pommy thinks Bomberman likes her," he said.

Bomberman headed toward the other bridge. "Well, you wouldn't be entirely wrong… Now, c'mon. Let's go."

Pommy followed Bomberman as they crossed the bridge, heading even deeper into the darkening city.

-- -- -- --

Rukifellth sighed, looking out on what was laid out in front of him. The once "Dark Messenger" peered endlessly at the monitor in front of him, hoping that a sign –any sign at all- would pop up, telling him there was something to do, _something_ to find. It was _so _boring, drifting in space with absolutely nothing to do except pace back and forth, wondering when and _if_ something would pop up. In fact, the only thing that stopped him from killing himself was his best friend, and soon-to-be wife, Lilith. He had recently proposed to her, hoping that she would say yes to becoming his wife, and she had; it was probably the greatest moment in his life… except for maybe that one incident with the crab planet and the thousands of gold pieces, and…

"What the…?"  
Something was blinking on his map, but what? What could be in so much danger that would—

"Oh, no…" he stood there in shock of what he was seeing.

Lilith soon stepped into the room, holding what looked like a plate of food, though it was hard to tell what.

"Hey, Ruki," she smiled. "Want something to… what's wrong?"

She ran up behind him, peering over his shoulder.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"… Do you remember Bulzeeb, the Black Breath?"

"You mean Regulus? Yeah… why?"

"He's... he's enslaved the home planet of the one who brought us prosperity…"

"Planet Bomber? How?"

"I don't know… but someone he's worked with in the past is fighting alongside him."

"Why would he do such a thing? He seemed like he had a good heart…"

"Looks can be deceiving… what's this?"

She frowned. "What is it?"

Rukifellth stood there in shock, staring blankly into the monitor again. "T-they have… they have the… the… Stone of Terminus…"

"WHAT?!" she dropped the plate, shattering it on the ground beneath her. "How did they get it?!"

"I have no idea," Rukifellth turned from the screen, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door. "But we're heading over there. It's our turn to help out Bomberman… and get the rarest gem in the universe, too. Kill two birds with one stone, right?"

Lilith stood there as he left the room, staring at the monitor. "Bomberman…" a tear rolled down her cheek, dropping to the floor at her feet.


	6. Black Resort

**Note: **Y'know, it's funny. No matter how hard I try to sit down and type, I never seem to have the chance to until a month passes... I've really got to start kicking people off of their computers so I can start typing this more. That aside, I hope everyone had a good Christmas, or Hannukah, or whatever their respective holiday might be, and also a Happy New Year. As for me, well, they're just normal days for me. Anyways, here's to 2007 being better than 2006!

**Author's Notes: Sora G. Silverwind - **I wish for the best in your Golden Sun opus. (No way in HELL would I be able to do something like that... I envy you.) And having just beaten Twilight Princess, I can tell you it's a very good game, but personally, I'm getting rather tired of the whole "Let's make everything like Ocarina of Time" plot-scenarios... gets old after a while. And I trust you've seen the final episode of Bomberman Jetterz? Holy crap, did that put a tear to my eye... and not for the first time, either. I swear, that is the most emotionally-driven anime I've EVER seen. Or show, for that matter. And yes, Bomberman Wii looks... well, dull, to say the least. The whole reason why I started writing this 'fic was pretty much because of Hudson's latest moves on Bomberman spin-offs (Act Zero and Touch!, wtf?), and not enough adventure titles. Sure, Generation wasn't the best of them, but dammit, at least there was something to it!

As for the Sinister Bombers... well, they're pretty much something I came up with a very long time ago. And for Alya and Shiro; there will be some definite things going on between them. There is a reason why I wanted a bunch of villains to show up, but only time will tell.

Now to find an anime worthy of the Jetterz name! Maybe that Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden...? ... Maybe.

-- -- -- -- --

**Chapter Five: Black Resort**

"Pommy wants to ask Bomberman something," Pommy said, having a slight hop in his walk.

"Shoot." Bomberman replied, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Why does Bomberman wear that badge if he isn't part of the Jetters anymore?"

Bomberman stopped, closing his eyes. "Well, it… it used to belong to my brother… my older brother, Mighty."

"Myu?" Pommy arched an eyebrow. "Pommy didn't know Bomberman had a brother… what happened to him?"

Bomberman sighed. Although he was over the fact that his brother was dead, it still wasn't a subject he particularly liked to talk about. "He died when I was nine… he sacrificed himself to complete his final mission…"

"Myu…" Pommy frowned. "Pommy's sorry…"

"Don't worry about it," Bomberman smiled. "I still think about him from time to time."

The long bridge finally came to an end, a twisted, melted gate marking the other side. The buildings were getting darker and darker by the second, massive amounts of ash covering their once colorful surfaces. A small fountain soon appeared in the distance, filled with disgusting, grimy water, which smelled like it came from a sewer. Pommy stumbled around for a bit, struggling to keep his balance.

"Pommy doesn't like this smell…" he muttered.

Bomberman shook his head. "I know what you mean…"

The path soon widened, leading them down the middle of a small neighborhood. Occasionally looking over at the small houses that surrounded them, they noticed the trees that lined the sidewalks were dark, but fortunately, still alive. To think that just a few hours ago people were living their lives on these roads, caring for one another and-

_"Damn it!!"_ someone yelled off in the distance.

The voice was then followed by a few loud gunshots, echoing throughout the area. Bomberman and Pommy stared at each other, and then took off in the direction of the noise, readying themselves for attack. Another gunshot sounded, the bullet streaming by Bomberman's cheek; he could feel the trail of the shot brush against his face. An arch appeared, looking to be a bridge on the top, and someone was leaning against the wall in front of it.

"Shaut!" Bomberman yelled.

She looked over at him, apparently surprised. "White Bomber! I—"

_"Hey, there's that Bomberman guy!"_ someone down the road screamed.

_"Get 'em!!"_

"Get over here!" she motioned to the two.

They dashed over to her, leaning back against the wall. Bomberman sidled to the left, and peered over the corner; a group of about five men were running toward them, laser guns in each of their hands.

"That's just perfect…" he muttered.

He looked at the two next to him, and jumped out from the corner and into the middle of the street. Quickly, he dropped an Ice Bomb, and kicked it as hard as he could towards them, simultaneously charging a Fire Bomb. He detonated the Ice Bomb, freezing them all in place, then threw the Fire Bomb as hard as he could.

_Boom!_

The bodies of the frozen soldiers shattered to pieces after the Fire Bomb exploded; Shaut and Pommy stepped from the corner, looking over at the many crystal shards that covered the road.

Shaut stepped next to him, not taking her eyes off the road ahead. "Well… you've certainly… honed your skills."

Bomberman looked at her. "Anyone who hurts the people of my home are just asking for it." he shook his head. "Hey, where's Birdy? And Bongo? And Gangu?"

"Well, you know how Birdy is," she answered. "We split up a while ago. He said he saw someone sneaking through the back gate of the town and decided to follow him." she frowned. "I don't know where Bongo and Gangu are, though… there's no signal when I try to contact them…"

Bomberman smiled, remembering it was Bongo they were talking about. "Don't worry. I doubt they're in trouble. Trust in your friends, remember?"

She smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

The three of them began down the road in front of them, following it's trail of stone. Dark, grey clouds covered the sky, and with a bolt of lightning, began to pour rain down on them.

"Myu…" Pommy muttered. "Can this get any worse—"

Bomberman quickly swung his hand over Pommy's mouth, clasping it shut.

"Don't ever say that, 'kay?" he said. "When you do, something bad is _bound_ to happen…"

"Ain't that the truth…" Shaut muttered.

A long stairway appeared in front of them, climbing even higher towards the sky; the road continued underneath it.

"I'll go up," she said. "I'll continue to investigate the city. You two try and make your way to the ship."

Bomberman nodded. "Right."

"Y'know," she moved up a step. "I'm really impressed with you…" she slowly made her way up the flight. "You're a lot different than I remember you… Mighty would be proud."

Bomberman rubbed his neck shyly as she headed up the stairs.

"Shaut's right," Pommy said. "Pommy's proud of Bomberman, too."

Bomberman shook his head. "Alright, alright…" he started down the path. "Let's get going before we get all sentimental…"

"Bomberman still doesn't like talking about his emotions?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why talk about feelings when you could be talking about something else?"

Pommy chuckled. "Because sometimes it's good to share a little pain with others."

"… And sometimes it's good to talk about something else… like this mission, for instance."

They continued down the road, taking in all the sights around them. Soon, the standing figure of _someone_ came into view, standing in the middle of the road, his cape blowing in the wind. Bomberman continued toward the man, motioning Pommy to stay behind him.

"Who is it, Bomb?" Pommy whispered.

"I don't know," he answered. "It's too dark to tell…"

As they moved closer, they saw that he was staring up at a giant statue of Bomberman, erected as part of a fountain; it was Mujoe. Bomberman stepped up next to him, not saying a word.

"You're here for the Stone, I assume." Mujoe finally said, not once taking his gaze off the flowing water.

"Partly, yes." Bomberman answered. "But I'm really here to keep my planet safe. At any costs."

"Still as noble as ever, huh?" Mujoe rubbed his large, brown nose. "You know we're gonna have to fight, right?"

Bomberman nodded. After the fight on the Armored Joe a while back, he was ready for anything that Mujoe might throw at him. Mujoe walked a few steps ahead, standing in the middle of the road; Pommy watched as Bomberman did the same.

"You ready?" Mujoe shouted, lifting his muscular arms in the air above him.

Bomberman put his fist out front. "Bring it!"

Mujoe bellowed with laughter. "That's what I want to hear!" he put his fingers to his lips, and whistled loudly. "Come, Beam Machine!"

Suddenly, a giant, circular machine soared above them, landing next to Mujoe, who quickly jumped inside.

"You still have that piece of crap?" Bomberman arched an eyebrow, remembering how Mujoe tried to ambush him with the same machine many years ago.

Mujoe chuckled. "It's been greatly upgraded since then," he pressed a switch. "Like this!"

A hatch opened on the front, and a cannon emerged; a huge beam of energy shot out at Bomberman.

"Whoa!" he quickly rolled to the right, then quickly jumped to his feet.

"See what I mean?!" Mujoe laughed hysterically.

"Sunrise Thunder Bomb!" Bomberman shouted.

A very bright light formed in his hands, taking the form of a bomb. Electricity soon emitted from it as he raised towards the sky.

"Bomber… _SHOOT!_"

The bomb shot fiercely at Mujoe, leaving a trail of lightning behind it.

_BOOM!_

Mujoe's control system short-circuited for a bit, but steadily regained control. Another beam shot out at Bomberman, who quickly rolled to the left. _Time to show him a new technique…_he thought.

"Hyper Fire Bomb!" he shouted, raising his arm into the air.

A giant stream of fire shot down from the sky and into his palm, taking the form of another bomb. The stream of fire continued to wrap around his entire body, building energy around him, then shot up into the bomb, engulfing it in it's flame.

"Bomber… _SHOOT!_"

"Damn it…" Mujoe muttered, watching the as bomb flew towards him.

_BOOM!!_

The entire ship exploded upon impact, huge amounts of metal flying everywhere. Bomberman watched as Mujoe stumbled out of the fire, struggling to keep his balance. The pounding rain quickly weakened it to nothing but smoke in a matter of seconds as Mujoe fell to chest, unconscious. Pommy stepped up next to Bomberman.

"Should Bomberman and Pommy just leave him here?" he asked.

Bomberman started moving. "Yeah. He'll be fine; he's Mujoe, remember?" he looked over his shoulder. "He's actually a lot stronger than he looks, I'll give him that."

They continued down the grey path, wondering if that damn fountain was still going to be there once they arrived. They moved up a flight of stairs which lead to the top of a building; a small, park sat on top. They crossed the bridge ahead of them, and saw what they were looking for; the statue of the Goddess was still flowing with water like so long ago, and the bridge was still behind it.

"Myu!" Pommy dashed forward. "There it is! There it—"

Pommy froze, staring off into the distance.

"What's wrong?" Bomberman asked, edging next to his short friend.

He stared at what was beyond the railing, what was floating above the ocean: the enemy warship. It was _huge_. It had to have been at least twice the size of Rukifellth's ship "Noah." It's jet-black surface glistened over the top of the water, it's massive wings jetting out from either side. A giant 'fin' erected from the top, slicking back into a wicked curve. These guys really meant business, and had the ship to prove it.

"Pommy's scared…" Pommy trembled slightly, grasping tightly on the bars in front of him.

"Well, looks like we'd better find that portal as soon as we can." Bomberman took a few steps toward the stairway, glancing over at the fountain. "Can't let these creeps get—"

_"There they are!!"_

_"Get them! NOW!!"_

Bomberman looked over his shoulder, and a group of about twenty soldiers were heading their way. Quickly grabbing Pommy by his ears, he began to dash up the stairs as fast as his legs could take him.

"Myu!!" Pommy groaned in irritation. "Pommy can run by—"

A stream of bullets pierced the ground behind them, bits of concrete flying into the air.

"Don't let go!" Pommy covered his eyes.

The group of soaring bullets could still be heard chasing them as they ran across the rooftop. A flat, rectangular object sat in the middle of the area, blue holograms rising up from its outer shell. Bomberman dropped a Big Bomb behind them, and together, stepped into the portal, not sure what was going to happen next.


	7. Assault on the Engine Room

**Note: **HOLY CRAP, I am very sorry for this update taking so loooooooooooooong. Y'know, life getting in the way, getting ready to move off to college and whatnot. Anyways, I didn't mean for it to take so long. What's it been like, over six months? Geez... Well, I'm not dead, which is always a plus. And I've been rewriting a draft for Max's plot over and over and over again to see what works, and I'm having one hell of a time. I've been splitting time between this 'fic, and another new Bomberman-esque 'fic that I've been working on, which I might eventually post here. I haven't stopped working on this one, although it seems like I have, and I promise, quicker updates in the future! -sighs-

In other Bomberman-related news, Bomberman LIVE for the Xbox Live Arcade is to be released on Wednesday, so I'm pretty psyched about playing that online. Yippee!

**Author's Notes: Sora G. Silverwind - **It's a shame BMJ's over, (and been over since my hibernation back in the Arctic the last few months). And I'm glad to see you updated your "Fateful Meetings" 'fic. I'm a huge fan of that one thus far, and I can tell you're pouring a lot of blood and sweat over that one. And as soon as I'm done here, I'm reading your latest in "Plundered Hearts;" me likee the Lili/Ruki pairings. As with Mighty, I was going to do something with that, but when I finally saw BMJ52, I was like, crap, gotta completely rewrite this, move that, get rid 'o that, and so on. Still, it's all in good fun, right? ...Right?

As for a scene with Bomberman vs. Reggy-boy, well, can't reveal too much about that, but I'll say something between those two is going to take place. And man, will it be gritty. Or was it pretty? Don't remember much these days.

**Dantaron - **Yeah, sorry about some of the corny-ness I put in here. Can't help myself sometimes. I was implying that Rukifellth detected the enemy ship using the Noah's long-range capacity, but I guess I just suck at description. Sorry 'bout that.

As for the bombs, some types like the Hyper Fire Bomb are my own creation. If you've seen the Bomberman Jetters anime, Bomberman always seems to use techniques like Burning Fire Bomb, Sunrise Thunder Bomb, and a few other ones, and I thought that since he's older and more advanced in this 'fic, he'd have some stronger attacks. But he'll just use them in spur-of-the-moment situations, to keep him from playing the God-mode role.

As for the Astral Knights, well... I have plans for some of them appearing, but that's all I'm going to say.

-- -- -- -- --

**Chapter Six: Assault on the Engine Room**

"So, who exactly are these guys?" Orion tapped his foot impatiently, staring at the monitor in front of him.

The giant warship was traveling towards Planet Bomber, its mounted cannons ready to fire at anything that didn't look friendly.

"The Warship Noah," Regulus answered, folding his arms. "Piloted by the infamous treasure-hunters Rukifellth, the Messenger, and Lilith, Scourge of the Spaceways."

"Aaah," Orion looked over his shoulder. "So these are the hosts to the angels that thought they had you under their control, huh?"

Regulus nodded. "Precisely." He zoomed in on the image of the ship. "He was once known as the 'Dark' Messenger, but I assume he renounced that part of his title. And be careful when dealing with them; they are much stronger than they appear."

Orion nodded. "I'll send a fleet once they're in range," he walked over to the door. "It's suicide, otherwise."

Regulus nodded. "Understood." he switched monitors. "Oh, and check on the prisoners. I have a feeling that princess can tell us more than just her name."

Orion smiled. "Want her number? You sly dog…"

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Just get to it."

"Alright, alright, geez…" Orion stepped out into the hall. "I'm gonna grab somethin' to eat really quick. Want anything?"

"No. And hurry up."

"Suit yourself. I'm thinking a triple-bacon deluxe—"

"Just go."

"…Alrighty, then. That time of the month already, huh? I'll leave you alone, then."

Regulus sighed as the door shut behind Orion.

-- -- -- -- --

"Dammit…" Gangu muttered.

The small robot was floating above his massive friend, Bongo, who stood looking up at what was ahead.

"This isn't good, bongo…" Bongo sighed.

The east section of Blue Resort was completely destroyed, bodies of both civilians and terrorist soldiers lay scattered across the ground. Bongo started down the road as Gangu followed behind, his satellites rotating in circles. Buildings were on fire, flowers had been trampled, trees had been burned; it was a disaster. A long stairway appeared that lead higher above the area, but the road continued ahead; charred soldiers were lying all around the trail ahead.

"White Bomber's got that area covered," both Bongo and Gangu sighed.

They headed up the stairway, climbing rather quickly in fear of anyone spotting them. A straight path soon appeared, leading them over the city to an even higher section.

"Holy--!!" Gangu froze.

"What is it, bongo?!" Bongo frowned.

Gangu pointed out to the sea, and Bongo froze as well; the enemy ship was _huge_.

"Bongo! Gangu!" someone shouted ahead.

They turned and saw Shaut running towards them.

"There you guys are!" she breathed. "I was worried…"

"Why'd you call his name first…?" Gangu muttered.

"Good to see you're safe Shaut, bongo." Bongo smiled. "Where's Birdy, bongo?"

"He went off to investigate someone we believe to be a third-party." she answered.

"I see…" Bongo sighed. "Well, we'd better get moving then, bongo."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Let's go."

The trail continued over the city, the dark sky casting shadows of doubt all around them. Everything was quiet; the place seemed empty of all life.

"_Look!_" Shaut cried, pointing off in the distance.

They saw Bomberman dashing up a stairway, trying to avoid the group of soldiers chasing them. Bongo quickly grabbed Gangu, and transformed into a small missile launcher.

"Why do you abuse me so?!" he cried, his head taking the form of a rocket launcher's barrel.

Shaut aimed her pistol at the group, and she and Bongo began to fire. _Come on, White Bomber… _she aimed as steadily as she could, trying to keep a lock on them. The soldiers kept firing at the two runners, ignoring Shaut and Bongo's fire. Bomberman had set a Big Bomb at the roof, and disappeared with Pommy; Bongo quickly took advantage of the moment, firing a missile at the Fire Bomb.

_BOOM!!_

The explosion obliterated all soldiers but one, who managed to fall back. Shaut took a breather as Bongo tinkered with Gangu, transforming him back to normal.

"Shiro must've gotten onto the enemy ship," she finally said. "We'd better hurry."

A few minutes later, flashing red lights began to emit from all over the ship; the boys had been discovered.

"We'd better hope Max has gotten there before us, bongo." Bongo said.

Shaut took off running down the trail, Bongo and Gangu close behind.

-- -- -- -- --

"This place gives Pommy the creeps…" Pommy muttered.

"You're telling me," Bomberman replied, looking around him. "And this is just the entrance, too."

A dark corridor laid out the path in front of them, a giant steel door at the end. A small keypad hung on the wall to the right, obviously needing verification to open the door.

"What are we gonna do, Bomberman?" Pommy mumbled.

"Stand back," Bomberman said, summoning a Magma Bomb.

He grabbed Pommy by the ears and dashed back.

_Boom!!_

A stream of intense lava formed a cross on the ground in front of them, melting the hinges on the door; the fires that followed shattered it completely. Bomberman threw a quick smile at Pommy, then stepped through the smoke. They stood in a small hallway with many doors on either side; a holographic map stood in the middle of the room.

"Where to, Bomb?" Pommy asked, staring up at the map.

Bomberman studied the map for a moment, tapping his foot.

"We're gonna blow the engine out," he finally said.

"Won't that put the prisoners in danger?"

"That's why we're only going to destroy one," he answered, turning to face his small friend. "One engine can't possibly be enough to hold a ship of this size, so they'll be forced to land it somewhere on the surface. The Jetters can secure the prisoners from there, while we go and destroy the rest of the ship."

"Bomberman thinks of everything, doesn't he?"

"I do what I can." he winked.

Pommy followed Bomberman to the room just to the right of them, staying close behind. A giant computer room stood in front of them, a door on the wall above them. Apparently, no one had yet known of their entrance; no alarms were going off, and no one was at post.

"How convenient," Bomberman muttered as he began to search the computers. After a few moments, he groaned loudly in frustration.

"I can't find anything to drop a path up to that—"

Pommy jumped on a big red switch on the wall next to the entrance; a ladder lowered itself down onto the wall ahead.

"Isn't Pommy great?" he smirked.

Bomberman rolled his eyes. "C'mon…" he muttered.

Pommy jumped and grabbed Bomberman's thin tassel as he started to climb, swaying back and forth. The door ahead opened as Pommy lead the way, his ears flapping beside him. A thin, steel railway lead them down the ceiling of a large room, as many weapons filled the floor below them.

"Whoa…" Bomberman gazed over the rail. "Missiles, warheads, plasma cannons… these guys have it all…"

Pommy ran down the rail, stopping in front of the next door.

"We'd better go and get 'em now!"

"Right," Bomberman nodded, sprinting for the door.

A long stairway spiraled down to the dark depths below; Bomberman threw a Flash Bomb.

"No traps here," he said, heading down the stairway.

"Pommy doesn't like dark places…" Pommy trembled, his voice bouncing off the walls around them.

They started down the path, trying to keep the clanging of the metal beneath their feet as quiet as possible.

_"Warning. Warning." _

_A_ female voice echoed throughout the compound.

"_Intruders have penetrated the ship's security. Maximum security has been deployed. Warning. Warning…"_

"No!" Pommy shouted.

"Crap!" Bomberman rubbed his brow. "I guess those soldiers who chased us up here dodged our bomb…"

The door above slammed open, and the sound of multiple footsteps could be heard, boots clanging on the floor beneath them.

_"There's that damn Bomberman! And his pet, too!"_

"Myu!" Pommy quickly hopped down the step. "Pommy is _not_ Bomberman's pet!!"

"C'mon!" Bomberman shouted. "You run ahead!"

Pommy continued down the twisting stairway as Bomberman turned and charged a Fire Bomb, simultaneously kicking a Light Bomb. The Light Bomb slid up the bulky steps, knocking a soldier to the ground while he dropped the Big Bomb and dashed down the steps.

_Boom! BOOM!!_

The Light Bomb exploded, damaging and blinding the soldiers, while the Fire Bomb engulfed the area in flames. Bomberman and Pommy ran down the remaining flight of stairs, pushing down the metal door at the bottom together; it burst open, and they stumbled inside. The room was dark, the only source of light emitting from the giant, whirring object in front of them; it was one of the engines.

"There it is!" Pommy jumped. "Hurry up and destroy it!"

"Yeah," Bomberman nodded.

Pommy watched as Bomberman stepped closer onto the railing between the two turbines, charging a Fire Bomb.

"Burning… FIRE BOMB!!"

The Big Bomb was immediately engulfed in flames as he held it above him.

"Bomber… SHOOT!!"

The flaming ball slammed into the engine ahead, exploding on impact. The area grew red as the turbines began to explode, chunks of debris and metal flying everywhere, leaving a trail of smoke in their path.

And Bomberman fell to the ground.


	8. Bomberman Max

**Note: **Due to the fact that I'm posting this from somewhere I shouldn't be, I don't have the chance to respond to any of your comments. Sorry 'bout that. Also, from here on, there will be spoilers concerning the Bomberman Jetters anime, so I'm warning you, don't read if you haven't watched it yet!

Hope y'all have been enjoying Bomberman LIVE as much as I have!

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

**Chapter Seven: Bomberman Max**

_Boom!!_

Three soldiers fell to the ground, dead. Max stepped forward, careful not to fall over the ledge in front of him. The enemy ship was right above him, and he to admit, its size was impressive. The ocean beneath had been cast in shadow but still flowed calmly, as if it hadn't been affected by all that had happened. Max peered over the edge of the pier, looking into his reflection; it was hard to imagine that he was based off MA-0, the android "host" to Bomberman's legendary brother, Mighty.

He had been in complete awe over how much damage these soldiers had done to the city, yet at the same time, was impressed; unlike the HigeHige Dan, these guys wanted their point made loud and clear, and he wondered if Shirobon had even made it up there yet. After observing his fight with one of the Sinister Bombers, he was getting a tad concerned for the kid, though he'd never show it. He had to admit, though, that Shiro's skills were improving greatly by the day.

"I should be able to teach him the Hyper Plasma technique," he said quietly.

He watched as a small opening appeared from underneath the hull of the ship, and soon, fighter jets began to soar out from it. There were at least seven of them he counted, but something else had caught his attention; a young man in black was standing on the surface of the ocean below it. It was the Sinister Bomber Shiro had fought earlier.

"How is he doing that?" Max muttered, staring at the floating swordsman.

Suddenly, a beam appeared, and the man began rising into the air. _What? He's not on their side… _Max waited until the bomber disappeared into the ship, then kneeled down. With all his might, he jumped as high as he could—

—And soon, he was hanging from the ledge of the ship's hull. He pulled himself up as the shuttle doors below him began to close. There were many fighter jets still lined up in the hangar, but the young swordsman was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, at least I'm on the ship." he sighed.

The room was quiet as he walked to the door that lay in the distance, his footsteps echoing through the cold silence. A metal railway soon appeared before him, another door at the end of the trail. He continued down the path, looking at what was below him; massive supplies of weapons were carefully organized in rows.

The door opened, and soon he found himself standing in the middle of a long hallway, many doors on either side of him. A patrolling guard was down to the right, and two more were on his left. He dashed down to the single, and quickly snapped his neck. He dropped the body, and then raised his hand into the air.

"Hyper…" he began to chant as dark energy began flowing into his palm. "Plasma Bomb!"

_Boom!_

The two guards were killed, disintegrating into nothingness. Max shrugged off the debris on his shoulder and continued down the hall. A rather large steel door sat at the end, a giant emblem in the shape of a silver "R" bolted onto it.

_CRASH!_

The door burst open as he kicked it, a large, circular room inside. In the middle of the room lay a giant machine; what it was he couldn't tell, but it had to be this "Phantom" Ein was telling him about earlier. A group of corpses off in the back suddenly caught his attention, each belonging to the army here.

"It's rather big, isn't it?" a voice came from behind him.

A shady figure emerged from behind the door, a sword in his hand; it was the Sinister Bomber.

"Look at it," he said. "It's _huge._ Makes you wonder how they even got it in the first place."

Max said nothing, only watching as the young man stood there.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" he pointed his blade at Max.

"Or you just talk too much." Max replied, arms folded.

The swordsman chuckled. "Maybe."

Quickly, he dashed at Max, swinging his blade furiously in a downwards motion; Max jumped out of the way, using the distance to form a bomb in his hand.

"So you're a bomberman, huh?" the swordsman said.

"Not exactly." Max replied. "Fire bomb!"

As he tossed the explosive, the swordsman quickly cut through it with his sword, countering with a bomb of his own.

_Boom!_

The explosion caught Max, knocking him back into the wall behind him.

"Faster…" Max muttered, standing upright.

Quickly, the bomber dashed for Max and slashed, but the android quickly threw his arm in front of him, blocking the attack, and then used his free hand to punch him in the face. As the swordsman stumbled back, Max lifted his arm into the air, summoning all the energy he could at the moment.

"Hyper Plasma Bomb!"

Before he could regain his footing, Max shot the bomb at the young man.

_BOOM!_

The bomb slammed into the swordsman through the wall of the ship. Max peered over the side and watched as he hit the surface of the ocean, sinking into its depths.

"Thought this would last a little longer," he said. "So much for that."

_Beep._

He flipped open the communicator on his wrist, and an image of Professor Ein appeared.

"Max!" he shouted. "It's Bomberman!"

"What's wrong?"

"His signal hasn't moved for quite some time. I need you to go and find him, and see if he's alright! I'll guide you in his direction."

Max sighed.

"…Alright. Where is he?"

-- -- -- -- --

"_Nii-chan…_"

"_It'll be alright, Shiro._" Mighty smiled.

"_I'm… I'm scared, though. What if I can't do it?_"

"_Shiro, no matter how scary something seems, stay strong, and never give up._"

"_But—_"

"_I know it seems hard, and at times impossible to be brave, but if you never give up, you'll find your way._"

Shiro sat there, looking up at his older brother, the golden glow of the sun shining down on them. He wiped the tears traveling down his cheeks and stood up.

"_Y-you're sure…?_" he asked.

_"Positive_." Mighty smiled again.

"_O-okay. I think… I think I can do it._"

"_I know you can, Shirobon. Remember, I'll always love you, no matter the circumstances._"

-- -- -- -- --

Bomberman suddenly awoke, breathing quickly.

"Just a dream…" he said to himself. "That's all…"

Slowly, he sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. _Where am I…? _He was sitting on the edge of a small bed, and Pommy was gently sleeping on the ground below him. He watched as his small stomach moved up and down for a moment, and then realized where they were; the prison block of the enemy battleship. He shifted uncomfortably, then stood up, walking towards the steel bars keeping them in. The prison was _huge_; hundreds of cells lined the walls and ceiling. People filled them for the most part, and he saw that most of them – from what he could see – were citizens of Planet Bomber. They must have been in here for quite some time, because everyone seemed to be sleeping; there wasn't a sound to be heard. He turned around and gently nudged Pommy.

"Wake up, Pommy!" he whispered.

"…Just a few minutes more," Pommy groaned. "Pommy isn't quite ready to face the disappointments of another day…"

"Burning Fire…" Bomberman started to chant.

Pommy quickly jumped to his feet.

"_Pommy's awake! Pommy's awake!_"

"Good." Bomberman replied. "Have any ideas on how to get out of here? Besides blowing down the walls, of course."

Pommy shrugged. He walked over to the steel bars and examined them for a moment.

"Doesn't look like Pommy can fit through the bars… maybe there's another—"

_BOOM!!_

The wall behind them exploded. On instinct, Bomberman grabbed Pommy and fell chest to the floor, barely avoiding the fire. After the smoke cleared, he stood up and turned around; a black android was standing amongst the smoking rubble.

"_Max!_" he shouted.

"C'mon, Shiro," he stepped inside. "I thought you'd have more skill than that to stay out of prison."

"Funny." Bomberman smirked. "I was taken by surprise, alright?"

He noticed some serious scratches on the android's left arm.

"What happened to _you?_ Those look deep."

"That's none of your business," he turned and jumped back into the hallway he had come from. "Now follow me."

Bomberman and Pommy stepped through, trying not to breathe in the smoke the debris was emanating. Max started down the hall, breaking into a sprint; Bomberman and Pommy followed, slightly struggling to keep up. He knew better than to ask Max where they were going; knowing him, it had to be important. After chasing him down a rather long and twisting hall, he had led them to the front of a giant steel door with another "R" emblem on it. Of course, it looked as if it had already been knocked in: it was barely hanging by its hinges. As they stepped inside, Bomberman stood in awe as he looked up at what was in front of him: the Phantom.

A giant missile-looking object sat in the center of the room, a large keyboard wrapped around it. Blinking lights flashed all over as it read what looked to be computer code on the monitor above it. It reached up to the ceiling, about twenty-five feet, and was pointing its tip through a large opening in the air.

"Is that…"

"Yes."

"Wow," Pommy gasped. "It's bigger than Pommy thought it would be."

Bomberman flipped open his communicator.

"Professor? This is Bomberman. Come in."

"Y-yes, Bomberman?" Ein's image soon appeared on the small screen; he seemed to be sweating much more than before.

Bomberman arched an eyebrow.

"Max and I have located the Phantom. Standing by for— "

"_Myu!_" Pommy frowned. _"And _Pommy! Pommy did, _too!_"

Bomberman looked back at the small screen.

"Y-yes… and Pommy, too. Awaiting further orders."

Ein wiped his forehead.

"See if you can disable it. We can't risk destroying it; we don't know of its explosion radius."

"Understood. Tell the Jetters of our progress. Bomberman out."

Bomberman closed the transmission and turned to Max.

"I wonder what's wrong with him? Anyway, let's try disabling this thing, then."

"Use a Thunder bomb," Max said. "If it's a supercomputer of some sort, a powerful surge of electricity will be more than enough to short-circuit it."

"Right." he nodded.

He rose his hand into the air above him.

"Thunder bomb!"

And nothing happened.

"What? _Thunder _bomb!" he repeated.

Max shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"I don't… Oh, no."

He searched the small pack on his belt for his Bomb Elements and found that they were all missing.

"What is it, Bomberman?" Pommy asked.

"It's the Bomb Elements," he answered. "They're gone. They must've been stolen from me while I was out…"

"So…?" Max sighed. "Can't you make one without those?"

"_Of course I can!_" Bomberman threw him a dirty look.

"C'mon, Bomberman!" Pommy jumped. "I thought Bomb said he was a _professional _bomberman!"

Bomberman rolled his eyes. "I _am._"

He realized he had been relying on the power of those stones for _too_ long; it had been awhile since he had actually used his spirit's energy to make one. He lifted his arm into the air one more time. _Uh, let's see… light, energy, and power… mixed into one element that makes…_

_Crack!_

A Lighting bomb appeared in his hand, sparkling a wild white.

"Good for Bomberman!" Pommy smiled.

He began charging until it was about the size of a beach ball, and then set it down next to the weapon's control panel.

_Boom! Crackle crackle…_

A powerful wave of electricity shot through the terminal, and they watched as it began to randomly spark all over.

"That should do it," Bomberman smiled. "Alright, we should get back to the Jetters, regroup, and—"

His communicator was jammed.

"What the…?" he shook his wrist.

"What's wrong _now?_" Max folded his arms.

"My communicator," Bomberman answered. "It's jammed or something…"

"Oh, come _on,_" a voice said. "Did you really think it would be _that_ easy?"

Bomberman and Max turned towards the direction of the voice. A young man in gold and green armor stood where the steel door once had. The red jewel in the center of the golden "X" embedded in his chest armor glimmered as he stepped forward, a small dagger in his hand.

"It's been a long time, Bomberman." he smiled.

It was Orion, a soldier of the Masked Trio that had tried to destroy this planet many years ago.

"_Orion?!_" Bomberman stood defensively. "You're—"

"Alive?" Orion interrupted. "It's a long story, really. Look, let's just cut to the chase. I'm gonna need your Fire Stone."

"Not a chance."

Orion stepped forward, holding his dagger out in front of him.

"I'm not going to fight you, Bomberman." he said. "Someone else reserved that pleasure long before I did. Just spare me the trouble and hand it over. Now—"

"_Orion! What the hell are you doing?! Get down to that ship before I kill you myself!!"_

He stared down at his communicator for a moment, then looked back at the small group in front of him.

"He's never been good with words," he chuckled. "Maybe he should've studied speech more. Shame."

"Who're you working for?!" Bomberman held his hand out, ready to form a bomb.

Orion laughed and turned back for the door.

"Not obligated to say," he stopped. "Oh, and you might want to help your friends outside. That ship of theirs is going down."

"Wait, you're the one who took my Bomb Elements, aren't you?!"

"Maybe… I'll trade them for your Fire Stone. Deal?"

"I don't think so."

"Don't worry about it. I have my ways of getting it."

And with that, he disappeared. Bomberman folded his arms, pondering for a moment. That voice on his communicator, he recognized it from somewhere, but he couldn't remember. But now wasn't the time for that. _What did he mean by 'my friends?'_

"Does Bomberman know that man?" Pommy asked.

"I'll tell you later," Bomberman answered. "We have to get out there!"

He took off running for the door, Pommy right behind him.

"Oh, please…" Max muttered. "You two, follow me!"

Max dashed ahead of Bomberman in the blink of an eye, and led them back down a long hall, another small, metal door at the end. They burst through it, and after crossing yet another metal rail, ended up in a huge hangar bay. A lot of soldiers filled the area, guarding and taking off in small fighter jets. Most stood guard as others boarded the aircrafts, assault rifles in each of their hands. The hangar was _huge_; it had to be the size of a baseball field.

"_There! In the doorway!_" one yelled.

The small army turned in their direction. Max looked at Bomberman and nodded. Before they took any action, the soldiers let loose a stream of fire on their position; Max jumped to the left as Bomberman grabbed Pommy by the ears and rolled to the right, ducking behind a small ship.

"_Myu!_" Pommy squealed.

_CLANK! CL-CLANK!!_

Waves of bullets slammed into the ship in front of them. Bomberman looked over at Max, who had wall-kicked off the door in a somersault, and was hanging from a support beam on the ceiling high above them. _I've got to get their attention…_

"Don't move," he looked over at Pommy.

He jumped out from behind the ship, forming a bomb in his hand. Quickly, he tossed it at a small group aiming for Max, and as more enemy fired their weapons, he rolled even further to his right, forming another Fire bomb.

_Boom! Boom!_

Both bombs exploded, taking out a small group of soldiers.

_CLANK!!_

Max landed next to Bomberman, his metal boots colliding with the ground. Bomberman shook a bit, but quickly regained his balance.

"Let's do this," he said, kneeling next to Max.

Max said nothing, only dashing forward to meet up with another small group of soldiers.

_WHACK!_

He knocked them out of his way, slamming them against numerous ships. He formed a small Plasma bomb with his free hand and tossed it at one soldier.

_Screeeech…_

It electrocuted the winded man, as well as those near him.

"Max!" Bomberman shouted. "_Watch it!_"

As another group of soldiers opened fire from behind him, Bomberman tossed a few Fire bombs, each detonating upon impact.

_Boom! Bo-boom! Boom!  
_

Only a couple of soldiers remained, who were all sprinting for empty ships; Max shot his wrist into the air.

"Hyper…" he chanted. "PLASMA BOMB!"

A huge flash of light appeared in his palm, streams of electricity dancing wildly in the air.

"Burning…" Bomberman raised his arm into the air, as well. "_Fire Bomb!"_

Together, the two tossed their explosives into one of the small jets.

_BOOOOOM!!_

The energy of the bombs combined into one fire-white explosion, completely destroying every small ship caught in its blast radius. As the smoke slowly started to clear, Pommy slowly emerged from his hiding spot in the back, and bounced towards the two.

"Wow," he surveyed the decimated area. "Bomberman and Max are really powerful together…"

Bomberman peered over the open hull in front of him, looking down on the ocean below them.

"How?!" he shook his head furiously. "I thought I took out that engine earlier?! How is it still in the air?!"

Max turned.

"No idea." he folded his arms. "But the Stone is most likely the reason."

Bomberman rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"How are we going to get out there and help whoever's in trouble? I don't even know where 'they' are!"

"Myu!" Pommy jumped. "How 'bout we use the ship Pommy was… protecting! It wasn't destroyed when Bomb and Max were fighting all those guys."

Bomberman looked back at the ship. Indeed, it was still there. As he dashed for it, he motioned for Pommy and Max to follow.

"Come on, you two!"

He hopped into the open cockpit and looked for the ignition key. There were many buttons scattered all over the panel that laid before him, each of varying color, and some that were blinking. He sat there for a moment in confusion until Max jumped in beside him, Pommy in his arm.

"Hey, Max," he said. "Do you know how to start this thing?"

Max sighed.

"Didn't you learn _anything_ at that Base?"

Bomberman smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his next. Max began searching over the panel for a moment, and then lifted his palm over it.

_Whoosh!_

A quick surge of electricity shot from his hand and into the control panel. Before long, they heard the sound of the engine purring softly.

"Like I can really do _that…_" Bomberman rolled his eyes.

The small ship slowly began to lift off the ground, and once he maneuvered it to the open hull, they took off down over the ocean. A small wave gently rubbed against it as they stopped, changing direction. They ascended closer to the ever-darkening sky and stopped, turning back to the enemy warship, and saw that it had its cannons pointed at something off in the distance: another warship. But it was one that looked somewhat familiar…

"Oh, no!" Bomberman exclaimed. "Pommy! It's… it's Noah! The battleship is aiming for Rukifellth and Lilith!"

"_What?!_" Pommy shouted.

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

Streams of missiles shot out from the enemy ship, a wave of bullets following in their trail.

"It looks like they need our help." Max said, getting to his feet.

The cockpit's shield began to open, and Max stood over the edge, his hand on the rail beside him.

"What are you doing?!" Bomberman shouted. "Are you crazy?!"

"Don't make me bust you out of prison again, alright?"

And with that, he jumped from the ship and even higher into the sky. Bomberman looked over at Pommy.

"I need you to fly this thing," he said.

"_Myu?!_" Pommy's eyes widened. "_What?!_"

"I'm gonna assault these cannons with bombs. I'm going to need you to fly this thing."

"But, Pommy can't—"

"Relax." he smiled. "Remember when we got out of Alcatraz? I'm sure you've gotten better since."

_BOOOOOM!!_

They both turned and saw a cannon on the ship explode; Max had hit it with a Plasma bomb. And hard.

"Myu! Pommy isn't sure—"

But Bomberman was already climbing out of the cockpit and onto the wing. The cool breeze felt nice against his skin as he stood up, steadily gaining his balance..

"_Move in closer!_" he shouted against the wind.

Pommy shook his head and grabbed the pilot stick. Their small ship moved closer towards the side of the warship; Bomberman threw his wrist into the air.

"Fire Bomb!"

A small bomb formed in his hand. He tossed it at the machine gun mount.

_Pop._

It did nothing. He shot his wrist back into the air.

"Burning… _FIRE BOMB!_"

His small bomb grew in size as it engulfed itself in flames.

"Bomber… _SHOOT!!_"

_BOOM!!_

The bomb slammed into the machine turret, completely destroying it.

_CLUNK!!_

The small ship almost flipped over as Bomberman scrambled for a grip on the wing. As soon as it was steady again, he looked over to see what it was; Max had landed on the other wing. But before he could say anything, Max sprung back into the sky, a ball of light forming in his hands.

_Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat…_

A stream of bullets began to fire at them.

"_Pommy!_" Bomberman shouted, dropping to his chest. "_Move! Anywhere!"_

Their ship strafed to the right, and as Bomberman stood back up, he formed another bomb in his hand. As soon as it was charged, he flung it at the machine turret firing at them.

_BOOM!_

It exploded in a small fireball, falling to the ocean below.

_BOOOM!!_

Max had destroyed another missile launcher.

"_Up, Pommy!_" Bomberman shouted. "_Move up! We need to take out those missile launchers!_"

Pommy slowly ascended the ship, and before long, Bomberman was face-to-face with a rather large cannon, pointing right at him.

"_FIRE BOMB!!_"

His hand was engulfed with flames.

"_BOMBER SHOOT!!_"

As he flung it at the cannon, a flashing ball of light had slammed into it as well.

"_DROP DOWN, POMMY!!"_

_BOOOOOOM!!_

The large cannon exploded in a huge ball of fire as their ship dropped even lower. _That was close… warn me the _next_ time you're gonna do something like that, Max!!_

"_GET DOWN!!_" he heard Max scream.

Bomberman dropped to his chest and motioned for Pommy to do the same; the ship dropped closer down to the ocean.

_BOO-BOO-KA-BOOOOOOM!!_

A stream of missiles had repeatedly pelted into the warship, followed by one giant missile. Bomberman opened his eyes and looked up as all the smoke cleared, and saw that all the machine-gun nests and missile launchers had been completely wiped out. In fact, the entire side of the warship had been severely damaged. He slowly climbed back into the cockpit next to Pommy.

"I'll take it from here." he said.

"Myu!" Pommy groaned. "Pommy wants to drive! Pommy is a master pilot!"

Bomberman rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Now fly to Noah, alright?"

"What about Max?"

"Max can take care of himself. Now c'mon, let's go."

"Whatever Bomberman says…" Pommy sighed.

Bomberman flipped open his communicator as they started for Noah.

"Rukifellth? It's Bomberman. Listen, we're headed your way in an enemy jet, so don't fire, alright? Bomberman out."


End file.
